South Korean shipping company HMM has approved a $1.62bn investment in 12 containerships as it continues its fleet expansion programme, Splash 247 reported. The package combines orders for eight vessels of 13,000 teu each with the purchase of four smaller ships already being built. Together, the additions will provide 114,100 teu of capacity, with all deliveries scheduled to be completed by December 2029.
According to a stock exchange filing cited by Splash 247, the Seoul-listed carrier’s board authorised expenditure of KRW2.168trn, equivalent to $1.617bn, on 15 October. The smaller vessels comprise three ships of 2,800 teu and a single 1,700 teu unit. HMM is acquiring these four through resale transactions involving existing newbuilding projects, rather than placing fresh construction orders for them. The eight larger ships account for most of the capacity in the approved package.
Several details of the latest investment remain undisclosed. HMM has not named the yards that will construct the eight 13,000 teu vessels, nor has it identified the sellers of the four smaller ships. Propulsion specifications have not been announced either. The report therefore provides no confirmation that the new vessels will use the same fuel technology as the carrier’s previous round of containership orders.
The approval follows a separate KRW4trn commitment, valued at $2.8bn, made last year. That investment covered 12 LNG dual-fuel containerships, also of 13,000 teu, together with two very large crude carriers. HD Hyundai and Hanwha Ocean secured the containership contracts under that earlier package, Splash 247 reported.
Both investments sit within HMM’s business plan running to 2030. By the end of the decade, the carrier aims to operate 166 containerships with aggregate capacity of 1.47m teu. Its ambitions also extend to bulk shipping, where the plan targets a fleet of 110 carriers totalling 13.52m dwt.